This cover of The Sure Hand of
God, by Erskine Caldwell, Signet D2604, is an 18th printing by
that publisher. It depicts a frightened woman at the feet of an angry,
threatening group of men. The man in blue is holding his hands in a rather
strange pose.

The cover artist is James Hill.

Robert Wiener owns the original
illustration for the book, and the solves this riddle for us.

In the original painting, the man is
actually holding a belt, with the obvious intention of whipping the girl.
However, the painting has a clear plastic overlay attached, which when
folded down over the illustration, makes the belt disappear.

There is little doubt that the art
editors at Signet considered the picture too violent and ordered the
change.